Bus structure



Nov. .6, 1923. 1,473,385

A. M. ROSSMAN BUS STRUCTURE Filed May 10, 1920 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 War/med as [rwembons Amorney Nov.

A.M.ROSSMAN BUSSTRUCTURE 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 10, 1920 M/Lncssas Nov; 6 1923. 1,473,385

A. M. ROSSMAN BUS STRUCTURE Filed May 10-: 1920 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 As: army:

Nov. 6 1923.

A. M. ROSSMAN BUS STRUCTURE Filed May 10 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Nov. 6, 1923.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALLEN M. ROSSMAN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO- SARGENT & LUNDY, IN- CORPORATED, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

BUS STRUCTURE.

Application filed May 10, 1920. Serial No. 380,200.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALLEN M. RossMAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a. certain new and useful Improvement in Bus Structures, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact description, reference being had to the accompan ing drawings, forming a part of this speci cation.

My invention relates to bus structures for power stations substations and the like.

For the most economical distribution of electric power a central location is demanded. This generally requires a location where ground values are high and little room is available. The result is that there is a great demand for compactness of construction, together with the proper safety, convenience, accessibility and reliability.

It is the object of my invention to provide a form of construction which will give a great degree of compactness and which will at the same time embody sound engineering practice and provide convenience and accessibility. The result is a saving not only in real estate but also in materials, apparatus and labor of erection and maintenance.

The space which must be provided for fixed pieces of apparatus such as generators, transformers, '-l circuit breakers and lightning arresters is fixed and cannot be reduced beyond a certain minimum. The space taken up by the various connecting conductors is variable. The arrangement of the conductors as heretofore constructed requires improvement.

Naturally a certain amount of space must also be devoted to these conductors, but very little improvement has heretofore been made in properly designing a power station so that the location of the various fixed pieces and the bus structure together with the elements of the building, shall result in a compact and rugged construction characterized by economy of floor space and by accessibility and economy of material. It is the obJect of my invention to provide a construction embodyin the above advantages.

l riefly the fundamental point of novelty is the moulding of the cables or busses into a structural unit or units whereby the cables are both supported in insulated condition and protected against displacement or accidental contact or injury. Another'point of novelty resides in looping the cables through said structural unit or units from one point of connection with a piece of apparatus to the next. Other points of novelty and their special utilities will be apparent from the following detailed specification.

Two embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the accompanyings, in which:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a bus and oil circuit breaker structure embodying the features of the present invention;

. Figure 2 is a vertical section taken substantially on the line 2-2 of Figure 1 and Figure 3;

Figure 3 is a horizontal section taken substantially on the line 33 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 shows an embodiment of another vform of the invention particularly showing 3n plan view the bus structure below the Figure 5 is a section taken on line 5--5 of Figure 4 showing afront elevation of one portion of the structure, namely the main bus structure, illustrated in Figure 4 and showing the floor in section;

Figure 6 is a section taken on line 6-6 of Figure 4 showing a front elevation of another portion of the structure, namely, the tie bus structure illustrated in Figure 4 and also showing the floor in section;

Figure 7 is a vertical section taken substantially on the line 77 of Figure 4 and illustrating the oil circuit breaker structure above the floor; v

Figure 8 is a similaryiew taken on the line 8-8 of Figure 4;

Figure 9 is a similar view taken on the line 9-9 of Figure 4;

Figure 10 is a view in' perspective of a conduit extension, :1 part being broken away to dillustrate the method of construction; an

Figure 11 is a diagrammatic scheme of wiring showing the connections between feeder lines and the main and tie buses through the oil circuit breakers.

The structure shown in Figure 1 embodies the invention in a combined structure or unit forming the oil circuit breaker cells, disconnecting switch cells and bus support.

This'structure comprises a main wall or partition 10 resting upon the floor ill of the building and which wall is poured in place to hold the various slabs mentioned hereafter in place A plurality of vertical partitions 12 formed of prepared slabs divide the space on one side of the wall into a row of cells for receiving oil circuit breakers 13 or the like while similar partitions 14 formed of prepared slabs on the other side form a corresponding row of cells 15 for receiving disconnecting switches id or the like. The arrangement of the parts is such that current from the buses A, B, and C may pass through the several disconnecting switches 16 and oil circuit breakers 13 to the feeders 17 or vice versa.

Each of the buses is made up of short lengths of cable 1, 1 and 1 the adjacent ends of successive cable lengths being; led up to and connected with corresponding ones of the switches 16 in a definite se quence for each tan or i'cecler. Since there are three buses employed the several cable lengths oi. each run are so arranged as to make contact with every third switch. The cables are cut to the proper lengths which may be relatively short as illustrated in F igures 2 and 3, and. suitable terminal clips or lugs are fastened as by soldering upon the ends of the cables. These clips or lugs are clamped to the switch terminals and to each other. The are insulated with varnished carnbric tape and weatherproof covering or other suitable insulation, no lead sheathing being required under normal conditions. willbe seen that the cables are grouped in a very compact space and it is desirable that they be held rigidly and securely in place and :pacori apart sulficiently to ynard against the possibility of rupture on short circuiting.

The following described structure affords a convenient, rigid, and safe protection for the conductors. This structure includes a body 18 preferably of fire proof insulating material such as concrete or the like having embedded therein tubes 19 of suitable insulating material such as fibre or other known tion. Any appropriate means may be employed for this purpose. in the present in stance, however, this is accomplished by applying one or more coats of concrete or cement to these exposed ends. When the concrete or cement has hardened, it forms 3.

rigid arm or support 22 projecting from the body portion 13 and adapted for holding each. of the cables in place. lu order to increase the grip of the concrete or cement on the surface of the tubes, the tubes or at least ends thereof are preferably spirally wound with a coarse twine err-ope 23 before the cement has been applied thereto. (See Figure 10.)

it has been found that a bus supporting structure of this nature is well adapted for use when it is desired to run buses or other wires along the ceiling or walls or beneath the floor of a building. This arrangement is particularly use"ul for relatively high voltages and for conductors carrying large currents, but the invention is not to be limited to such use.

The construction shown in Figures 1 to 3 also embodies other important features. One advantage .is the case of construction and the small amount of material required and the small amount of labor for erection or construction. The slabs 12 and 14 are all previously prepared. They may be of any suitable material such as may be found'on the market or they may be precast concrete slabs. The slab 12 rests upon the floor 11 and is imbedded at its inner edge in the central concrete wall 10. The bench or beam 18 is formed of concrete preferably poured at the same time as the central wall 10. The smaller prepared slabs 14 rest upon the bench or beam 18 endure imbedded at their rear edges in the central wall 10. A. series of precast slabs 24 are set between the lower edge of the bench or beam 18 and the floor. This provides a support for the outer edge of "the bench or beam 18 and at the same time forms a runway or alle Figures 4 to 9 an 11, illustrate a form of the invention in which the switch is bottom connected and the buses are mounted in concrete beams or slabs suspended from the floor or frame of the construction upon the door with the oil circuit breakers 4G, ll

and i2 arrangedlabove the floor. The oil circuit breaker 45?. cf Figure 7 controls the connection between the tie buses re, 3/ and 2, connected at 25 to the oil circuit breaker l2 and transformer feeder circuit 43 connected on the other side of the oil circuit breaker 42-. The oil circuit breaker 41 of Figure 8 controls the connection between the main buses X, Y and Z and the tie buses 22, y, and z to complete the connections between the main buses and the work circuits which may be connected to the tie buses. The oil circuit breaker 40 of Figure 9 control the connections between the main buses and incoming reserve feeder or main power circuit connected at 26 to the other terminals of the oil circuit breaker 40.

It will be appreciated that there are three oil circuit breakers to each set, one for each phase. The diagram of Figure 9 illustrates the connections of one phase only.

The main buses are made up of lengths of cable 27 whose ends lead up to and are connected with the terminals of the disconnec'ting switches which tie in cells under the oil circuit breakers. Likewise the tie buses constitute cable lengths 28 whose ends lead up to and are connected with the terminals of the disconnecting switches which lie in cells under the corresponding oil circuit breakers.

Each set of buses is threaded through tubes or fibre ducts which in turn are supported and retained in proper spaced relation by means of structures 30 and 31 of concrete or other suitable material. This retaining structure may either be poured in place after tubes or fibre ducts are properly aligned into position or the structure may be so divided into unit sections and these sections precasted in such manner that they can be fitted and bonded together to make up the entire structure. The structures are supported beneath the floor of the building by any appropriate means such as brackets or hangers 32 suspended from the beams 33 of the floor.

The body portions 30 and 31 are similar to the table or beam 18 previously described and are provided with tubes 34 and 35, respectively, of insulating material such as fibre embedded therein and adapted to re-' ceive the cables 27 and 28. Each tube extends beyond the face of the body portion and the extended ends of the cable are gigidly supported by the extending tubes These tubes may be formed in the manner previously described by first spirally windin acoarse twine or rope around the fibre tubes and then coatin the same with concrete, cement or a simi ar composition. (See Figure 10.) p This spiral fibrous ooatin forms a re-enforcement for the cement whic is applied to the tubes. I also contemplate the use of wire or other metallic re-enforcement for the cement. The re-enforcem'ent may extend along the entire length of the tube if desired although I have applied it only adjacent the ends in the above embodiment.

The oil circuit breakers 40, 4:1 and .42 rest upon the cells 45, 47, 46 for the disconnecting switches 50-51. These disconnecting switch cells are built in a row over a slot or opening 49 in the floor 48, this slot or opening being covered by slabs 52 of suitable material in which the lower contacts of the disconnecting switches are suitably mountnals of the oil circuit breakers and the upr contacts of the disconnecting switches.

he floor beams 33 run transversely across the said openings thus supporting the load on the floor and providing suitable means for attaching the hangers 32 for the bus structures 30 and 31.

It is to be understood that there may be any desired number of tie buses and consequently a corresponding number of bus slabs 31.

As shown in Figures 4 and 5 the material of the adjacent arms 36 supporting any one of the buses X, Y, or Z may be joined to effect greater strength and stifiness.

As shown in Figure 10 the extending end of the fibre tube is first wound with rough jute rope of approximately one quarter inch thickness, the pitch of winding bein about three quarters of an inch and then t e concrete is applied in two coats, the last coat being preferably a facing coat of neat cement to give the extending part a finished ap earance.

umerous changes may be made in the embodiment of the invention hereinabove specifically described without departing from or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention as defined in the following claims.

I claim;

1. A structure of the character described including a body of fireproof insulating material having a pluralit of channels therein for receiving indivi ual buses and rigid means extending from said body portion and having openin s therethrough forming continuations of t e channels in said body portion;

' 2. A structure of the character described including a body portion having a plurality of channels therein for receiving individual buses and arms projecting from said body portion having openings therethrough forming continuations of said channels.

3. A structure of the character described including a body of fireproof insulating material, a tube of insulating material partially embedded therein and extending therefrom, and means for holding said extended portion of said tubing in the desired fixed position.

4. -A structure of the character described including a body of fireproof insulatin material having a channel therein, a rigi arm projecting from said body having an open ing therethrough forming a continuation of said channel, and an insulating lining for said channel and said opening.

5. A structure of the characte' described including a body of fireproof insulating material having a plurality of channels, rigid means projecting from said body and having enin therein in re 'ster with said chan:

P g g1 neis, a bus extending through each of said.

channels and openings, said channels and said openings being somewhat larger than the buses and insulating means between said buses and said channels and openings.

'6. The combination with a, conductor com- I prising successive lengths of cable connected I which consists in embedding a tube of insulating material in a body of fire proof material leaving the ends of the tube exposed and applying a thick coating of cement to said exposed ends to stifi'en and support said tube. v

8. In'a, switch and bus structure, a vertical wall bearing switch cells arranged in groups,

I switches in said cells, a horizontal table integral with the vertical wall, said table hav: ing intermittent conduits leading between cells of different groups and cables running between .the terminals of corresponding.

switches through said intermittent conduits.

9; In a switch and bus structure, a vertical wall bearing switch cells arranged in groups, switches in said cells, a horizontal table integral with the vertical wall, said table having intermittent conduits leading there through between cells of different groups, said conduits opening into the individual cells and having cables running between terminals of corresponding switches, said table and said wall being formed of concrete, said conduits comprising continuous tubes having ends open on one side only'to said table.

10. In a switch and bus structure, a vertical wall bearing switch cells arranged in groups, switches in said cells, a horizontal table integral with the vertical wall, said table havlng intermittent conduits passing therethrough, said conduits having their ends curved to project from one side of said table intoindividual switch cells, said conduits leading between corresponding cells of different groups, and cables running between the terminals of corresponding switches through said conduits.

11. In a bus structure, a plurality of conduit members grouiped together,'a covering of concrete for sai members, saidcovering of concrete holding the conduits together and forming a beam, the. ends of said conduits projecting from the sides of-the beam and fibrous means about the ends of the conduits for joining the ends'to the concrete of the beam.

12. In a switch and bus structure, a lonarranged along said well, insulatin gitudinal wall of concrete bearing electrical terminals, flexible cables running between the terminals longitudinally of the well, said cables bein rigidly imbedded in a portion of said wa l v r 13. In a switch and bus structure, 9, Iongitudinal wail of concrete switch terminals conduits embedded in a. portion of sai wall and said conduits emerging adjacent said terminals and separate pieces of flexible cable threaded through said conduits and connected to said terminals.

14, In a bus structure, a series of short lengths of cable running between terminals, a continuous wall of concrete, conduits embedded in said wall and having their ends bent laterally and emerging from a side of the wall, and separate lengths of flexible cables threaded through said conduits.

In a bus structure, a series of short lengths of cable running between terminals, a continuous wall of concrete, conduits embedded in said well and having'their ends bent laterally and emerging from a side of the wall, and separate lengths of flexible cables threaded through said conduits, and means electrically connected to said cables for joining together adjacent ends of said separate lengths of cable.

. 16. A conductor supporting structure, comprising a tube of insulating. material, having a coating or fireproof material, including a mixture of cement applied thereto, said mixture of cement being enlarged intermediate the ends of the tube to form a selfsupporting beam. A

17 A conductor supporting structure, comprising a tube of insulating material, a rope wound around the ends of the tube, a bod of cementitious material such as Portlan cement, embedding the intermediate portion of the tubeand forming a continuous self-supporting beam, the wrapped ends of the conduit extending from the body of the beam and being coated with similar cementitious material.

18. The method of forming a su port for a conductor, which consists in winding helically a rope around a portion of a tube of insulating material, then coating the wound portion with a thin coating of cementitious material, and coating other portions with a thick coating of cementitious material, said thick coating forming a self-supporting beam.

19. In a bus structure, a plurality of stationary contacts to be connected, a concrete beam extendin along said contacts, a. series of conduits of insulatin material embedded in said beam with ens projecting out of said beam adjacent said contacts, and lengths of flexible cable extending through and out of said conduit,f-and having their adjacent ends connected; to. the same one ofsaid tionary contacts tc be connected, a concrete v beam extending along said contacts, a series of conduits of insulating material embedded in said beam with ends projecting out of said beam adjacent said contacts, and lengths of fiexibie cabie extending through and out of said conduit, and having their adjacent ends connected to the same one of said stationary contacts, so that a continuous electricai connection to and past said contacts is provided, the projecting ends of said conduits being reinforced and coated with cement.

21. In a bus structure, a plurality of stationary contacts to be connected, a concrete beam extending along said contacts, a series of conduits of insulating material embedded in said beam with ends proje ng out of said, beam adjacent said contacts, and lengths of flexible cable extending through and out at said conduits, and having their adjacent ends connected to the same one of said stationary contacts, so that a continuous electricai connection to and past said contacts is provided, the projecting ends of said conduits being reinforced and coated with cement, adjacent ones of said conduit ends being cemented together to reinforce the same.

22. In a bus. structure, a plurality of contacts to be connected, suitable lengths of conduits extending between said contacts, said lengths of conduits being embedded in con crete-to form a rigid fireproof structure, the ends of the lengths of conduits being exposed, and flexible cables extending through and out of said lengths of conduits, adjacent ends of said cables being connected to the same one of said contacts so that said cables are connected in series In witness whereof I hereunto subscribe my name this 7 thday of May, 1920.

ALLENM. ROSSMAN. 

